1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to baseball shoe soles, and more particularly, to a multi-purpose sole which is especially designed for use as the outer sole of a baseball pitcher's shoe.
2. Description of Related Art
Baseball cleats now come in a wide variety of designs, primarily designed to give traction advantages on artificial or natural surfaces, exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,374, of Andrew M. Sneeringer, issued Feb. 16, 1982.
Baseball pitchers thirteen years of age and older still position themselves on the pitching mound as they did 50 years ago. They dig a hole in front of the pitching rubber, incline the inside of their foot towards home plate and pitch the ball. Thereby subjecting themselves to the conditions of the weather and consistency of the dirt which the cleats thrust against for traction. There is also a considerable loss of elevation in relationship to home plate; resulting in undue exertion of the pitcher, since it is easier to throw down hill than horizontally.
A further task of the pitcher is the perennial difficulty of obtaining a good pitching motion and then duplicating that motion once achieved. All things being equal, a more consistent placement of the foot windup and delivery could be accomplished on a regular basis as opposed to the use of an inconsistent hole dug by an opposing pitcher's likes or dislikes.
Little League Baseball players are 12 years of age and under, and are confronted with another problem. The pitching rubber in Little League was redesigned due to the numerous negatives associated with digging a hole in front of the pitching rubber and the rules requiring the pitcher's foot to stay in contact with the pitching rubber while pitching. But, since altering the pitching rubber the pitcher has been forced to change his pitching motion to a more unnatural thrust from the backside of the foot and ankle. Since the player must place his foot directly on the flat rubber during the pitch he is also dealing with the potentially slippery surface of the top of the pitching rubber.
Up until this time, the matter of pitching difficulties has not been addressed or resolved.
This invention is not just an improvement of a previously disclosed baseball shoe. It is a unique advancement in baseball equipment.
In examining the prior art I find no baseball shoe sole resembling my present invention or a baseball shoe designed for the purpose of aiding a pitcher.